The Chu Heavenly Secret Realm had no concept of day or night. Chu Mingwei glanced at the timepiece in his hand; he had already been searching this place for three full hours, yet there was still no clue at all.
At the thought that his junior brother’s life or death was still unknown, Chu Mingwei felt an indescribable wave of regret. He truly should not have allowed his junior brother to enter this so-called Chu Heavenly Secret Realm. Whatever his junior brother wanted, he could have obtained it for him personally. There was no reason for him to let his junior brother take such a dangerous risk alone.
Feeling increasingly vexed, Chu Mingwei raised his head and scanned his surroundings, silently analyzing which direction his junior brother might have chosen to head toward.
As his divine sense swept out, Chu Mingwei’s expression suddenly darkened. He spoke aloud toward the empty space ahead.
“Fellow Daoist, spying upon this place—may I ask what your intention is?”
Not long after his voice fell, a figure gradually materialized in the originally empty space ahead. The figure was entirely shrouded in a black robe.
Chu Mingwei calmly assessed the other’s appearance and, after a glance at his cultivation level, spoke after a brief pause.
“Fellow Daoist… are you Mo Heng of the Ghost Spirit Sect?”
Being identified at a glance, a faint flicker of surprise passed through Mo Heng’s otherwise emotionless eyes, though his expression remained unchanged.
“That is correct.”
Chu Mingwei’s demeanor remained detached. “Fellow Daoist Mo Heng appearing here—do you have business to attend to?”
Mo Heng looked at him expressionlessly, completely ignoring the question.
In the cultivation world, geniuses emerged every so often. In recent years, the two most outstanding young cultivators were precisely Chu Mingwei and Mo Heng.
Chu Mingwei had reached the Dan realm before the age of twenty-five and was regarded as the foremost young disciple of the immortal sects. Mo Heng, on the other hand, had reached the Dan realm before turning thirty and was regarded as the foremost young disciple of the demonic sects.
Both were extraordinary talents and rising stars of their respective sects. However, Chu Mingwei was open and personable, well-liked within his sect, whereas Mo Heng was eccentric, solitary, and known for his ruthless methods, making even his own demonic sect disciples wary of him.
Although they had both heard of each other before, this was their first time meeting in person.
Mo Heng had not expected to encounter Chu Mingwei here. Judging by Chu Mingwei’s behavior, he seemed to be searching for someone’s whereabouts. The only person who could make Chu Mingwei so concerned was most likely Xiao Lingyu.
Mo Heng lowered his gaze slightly without revealing his thoughts. He had come here as well to search for Xiao Lingyu’s traces.
Two days earlier, after exchanging blows with Xiao Lingyu, Mo Heng had been injured when that spirit beast spewed flames at him. Although the Manzhu Shahua flower had blocked part of the damage, due to the contract between him and the flower, injury to one meant injury to both. Thus, he had not escaped unscathed.
It took him two full days to recover.
Originally, he had pursued Xiao Lingyu to investigate matters related to the ancient demon race. But now, his interest had shifted—he was far more intrigued by the pig-like spirit beast that could breathe fire beside Xiao Lingyu.
However, it seemed Xiao Lingyu had encountered some kind of situation. From Chu Mingwei’s reaction, it looked like he had lost contact with him.
Mo Heng frowned slightly. He did not particularly care whether Xiao Lingyu lived or died—but that fire-breathing spirit beast was of great interest to him. Rare and unusual creatures like that were worth studying. If it perished alongside Xiao Lingyu, it would be a great pity.
As Mo Heng’s thoughts churned, Chu Mingwei’s expression grew increasingly distant. With his junior brother’s life and death uncertain, he had no intention of wasting time.
Just as he was about to leave, Mo Heng suddenly spoke.
“I have seen Xiao Lingyu.”
Chu Mingwei’s departing steps halted abruptly. A terrifying pressure surged from his body as he looked at Mo Heng with a grave expression.
“When?”
Under Chu Mingwei’s oppressive aura, Mo Heng remained unmoved.
“I want to know about the ancient demon race,” he said flatly.
Chu Mingwei’s eyes narrowed. “I do not understand what you mean.”
“Liu Haoxue.”
Only three words.
Chu Mingwei’s tense expression slightly eased—then immediately changed drastically as realization struck him.
“You attacked Lingyu?!”
At first, Chu Mingwei had thought Mo Heng’s mention of the ancient demon race referred to matters related to the forbidden grounds behind the Yun Tian Sect. Only after Mo Heng mentioned Liu Haoxue did he understand—the other party was referring to the Wu City ruins.
It was likely connected to the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples who had perished there.
But then he recalled Mo Heng’s earlier words: he had seen Xiao Lingyu.
Chu Mingwei’s expression darkened instantly.
If Liu Haoxue could summon him here, then Xiao Lingyu could also be summoned. If that were the case, why had Mo Heng seen Xiao Lingyu? Just the thought of it made him unable to remain calm.
Mo Heng met Chu Mingwei’s surging killing intent without change in expression.
“Yes,” he answered.
Seeing Chu Mingwei’s expression turn grim, he added calmly, “Xiao Lingyu is unharmed. I am the one who was injured.”
The killing intent in Chu Mingwei’s aura stalled abruptly.
Mo Heng, unconcerned, repeated indifferently:
“I want information on the ancient demon race.”
Chu Mingwei spoke in a low voice. “What exactly do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
Without hesitation, Chu Mingwei replied, “Very well.”
A faint, almost feverish light flashed in Mo Heng’s otherwise lifeless eyes.
Chu Mingwei then briefly explained everything that had happened in the Wu City ruins, including the matter of Shi Ge—but only up to the point of their departure.
After hearing it, Mo Heng compared it with what Liu Haoxue had told him and found no inconsistencies. This deepened his suspicion.
How could members of the ancient demon race still exist after so long? Even if some had survived the great calamity of ancient times, they should not have been able to endure until now.
Thinking of the sect’s historical records, Mo Heng became even more intrigued by Shi Ge. Unfortunately, Shi Ge had already been killed by Chu Mingwei—what a pity it would be if he could have studied him.
Returning to the present, Mo Heng recounted his own encounter with Xiao Lingyu, emphasizing the fire-breathing pig-like spirit beast beside him.
Chu Mingwei’s expression changed continuously as he listened. When he heard that Mo Heng had been injured by the beast’s flames, he finally relaxed slightly.
With Old Ghost Head and such a peculiar spirit beast present, his junior brother’s safety should be more assured.
While Chu Mingwei continued searching desperately for Xiao Lingyu’s trail…
Xiao Lingyu himself, together with Zhu Xier who had regained human form, was crouched on the speeding Water Moon Wheel, pulling out all their remaining magical artifacts. Having reached a point where neither could flee nor fight further, they were forced to prepare for a desperate battle with the crow demons.
Seeing Zhu Xier take out a messy pile of artifacts, Xiao Lingyu swept them with his divine sense and frowned faintly.
“Fellow Daoist Zhu, these are all artifacts used by cultivators below the Refining Realm. They will likely be ineffective against the crow demons.”
Zhu Xier’s face flushed. “Our Illusory Demon Realm has always been peaceful. Besides, as fellow demons, we inherit techniques from our lineage—who cares about using artifacts?”
Xiao Lingyu recalled how she and Kun Peng had previously fought fiercely over artifacts in the marketplace and found it difficult to believe her words.
Zhu Xier, feeling guilty, hurriedly rummaged through her storage bag and pulled out several more items—the very ones they had previously seized from Xiao Lingyu.
She excitedly picked up a short sword.
“Fellow Daoist Xiao, do you recognize this sword?”
Xiao Lingyu’s expression turned strange as he glanced at it.
It was the very sword he had used to trap Kun Peng and swindle a massive amount of spirit stones.
He nodded slightly.
Zhu Xier’s expression grew awkward, but urgency forced her on.
“This short sword is the most valuable among all these artifacts, but we cannot figure out its function. You must know how to use it. At this critical moment, please set aside past grievances—survival comes first.”
Xiao Lingyu stared at the sword in silence.
Old Ghost Head, meanwhile, could not hold back his laughter.
“Little Yuzi, this is truly karmic justice.”
Xiao Lingyu snorted. “If you keep laughing, we will all die. Quickly see if any of these artifacts can be used.”
Old Ghost Head restrained himself and scanned the items with divine sense. Suddenly, he let out a surprised sound.
“…Eh?”
Xiao Lingyu’s heart stirred. “What is it?”
Old Ghost Head pointed at a delicate miniature bamboo house.
“Take this up and let me examine it.”
Xiao Lingyu followed the instruction. After carefully inspecting it several times, Old Ghost Head’s expression turned delighted.
“Little Yuzi—we have a way out!”
Xiao Lingyu’s expression immediately relaxed.
Without hesitation, he activated the bamboo house.
A moment later, it expanded with a burst of violet light, transforming into an ordinary-sized dwelling.
Xiao Lingyu, drained of spiritual energy, immediately collapsed inside to recover.
Zhu Xier was stunned.
Only now did she realize this was a defensive artifact, not a spatial one.
She hurried inside as well, uncertain whether this fragile-looking structure could withstand the crow demons’ attacks.
Xiao Lingyu, however, had faith in Old Ghost Head’s judgment. According to him, this was a replica of an ancient defensive artifact. Though weaker than the original, it could still hold for several days.
Outside, the crow demons continued circling and attacking. Each strike dimmed the bamboo house’s glow slightly.
Old Ghost Head estimated optimistically that they could last another day—if the crow demons did not disperse first.
Xiao Lingyu focused on recovery while Zhu Xier anxiously tried to gather intelligence from Zhu Yurun, only to unknowingly reveal more herself under Old Ghost Head’s guidance.
Time passed.
Half a day later, a streak of light cut across the sky.
Chu Mingwei arrived, gripping the remnants of a shattered transmission talisman as he stared toward the direction of the crow demon swarm.